This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, click the "Reprints" link at the bottom of any article.

November 28, 2012

RJ Grabs $800K Ex-Morgan Stanley FA in West Virginia

The advisor has been in the business since 1978 and has about $215 million in client assets

Raymond James said early Wednesday that it recruited an advisor formerly with Morgan Stanley.

John N. Dorsey, who previously managed about $215 million in client assets and had more than $800,000 in yearly fees & commissions, is now a senior vice president of investments and branch manager of a new Huntington, W.Va.-based branch office of Raymond James & Associates–the traditional employee broker-dealer of Raymond James Financial (RJF).

“We are delighted to have been able to attract such an experienced, successful advisor as John, whose Huntington location will be the first RJA branch office in West Virginia,” said Rusty Clark, a complex manager in the firm’s Great Lakes Division, in a press release.

“He has a great reputation and exemplifies a deep caring for his clients and their interests, which is totally in line with Raymond James’ values and culture,” added Clark.

Though this is the first Raymond James & Associate branch in West Virginia, the firm–led by Paul Reilly (left)–has a dozen affiliated offices in West Virginia, which are managed by independent contractors and bank-based advisors.

Dorsey began his financial services career in 1978 with E.F. Hutton. He stayed with the same firm over the years through various acquisitions and mergers.

“After investigating a number of firms, I chose Raymond James, because it is a successful, conservatively managed firm, with a great reputation of putting its clients first and offering its advisors great support,” said Dorsey, in a statement.

“After meeting with the firm’s senior leadership, I was reminded of an earlier time in my career at Shearson/Robinson-Humphrey, where there was a family feel to the firm and the client-first focus was the most important part of the culture,” the advisor noted.

Active in his community, Dorsey is involved with the Marshall University Alumni Association and the Big Green Scholarship Foundation, which provides financial support for over 480 Marshall University student athletes. He has been on the board of the Tri-State Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America since 1987.

Two weeks ago, Raymond James recruited a Morgan Stanley (MS) team with about $80 million in assets and $1 million in yearly fees & commissions in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Raymond James Financial has more than 6,300 financial advisors serving over 2 million accounts in 2,600 locations throughout the United States, Canada and overseas through a variety of advisor channels. Total client assets exceed $390 billion.

Last week, Raymond James released its performance results for October. “October showed reasonably good metrics in light of a tepid market, which was additionally impacted by Hurricane Sandy and the resultant loss of two trading days,” said Paul Reilly, in a press release.

Securities commissions were $244.2 million: down 2.8% in October from September, but up about 46% from the year-ago period. October 2012 commission volume, the company says, was affected by a small decrease in the results of its Private Client Group and by a “more significant decline” in the Capital Markets segment.

ThinkAdvisor's TechCenter is an educational resource designed to give you a competitive edge by keeping you abreast of new tech innovations and need-to-know information that can be applied to your business.